Chapter one

It was just a regular day.  Clear blue skies, lush vegetation, and the sounds of wind echo throughout the kingdom of Lumina. Porcelain and gold buildings as far as the eye can see.  The surrounding buildings are accompanied by a castle that is hundreds of meters tall. Valerie Ryujin, a tanned caramel-skinned girl with pink hair and eyes, resides there. 

           She starts her day by taking a shower. When she comes out the cold steamless air hits her body. She looks at the pink walls and carpet that decorate her room. She wants to change them but she likes them too much. After she gets ready she jumps on her bed. Landing onto her pink queen-sized bed set, she used her large stuffed brown bear as a pillow. 

            She hugs her two stuffed bunnies, one is pink and the other is light blue. She sighed heavily, squeezing them tightly. A knock on her door breaks the silence. 

           "Valerina, it's Emma." She says

           "Come on in mom,"  Valerie replies. A tall, large-breasted woman with pink hair, enters her room and sits on her bed. 

           "Can you just call me Valerie, please mom?" She asks.

             "That is not your name," Emma responds. "You need to take your life a little more seriously. Pandea needs a new leader when your father retires." 

          Valerie sighs. "Why can't  my sisters do it?"

           "You know why, your older siblings can't because they are not the rightful heirs, and your younger sister is too young and irresponsible. So the rightful heir is you." 

           "Does anyone consider what I want? I don't want that luxurious lifestyle. I just want to get married and have kids." 

          "You can do that and still be the queen. You don't need to disregard your responsibility." Emma suggested. Valerie lets out a long sigh and hugs her stuffed bunnies tightly. Emma puts her hand on her back and slowly rubs it. "I know sweetheart, I'm going to put in a special program. I think this will help you realize your role in this place. It teaches you skills for all sorts of things like combat, socializing, etc." 

           Valerie, reminiscent of this moment, smiles.  (I can't believe that was five years ago. I wonder how my old classmates are doing. Ever since I transferred classes I don't see them as much.) Valerie sighs. The chattering of the students next to her snaps her out of this memory.  She quickly looks to her left and right side. She sees dozens of students in a large black room standing in groups. 

          "Alright students, quiet down!" The room is filled with silence as the students face the front stage. A man in a long sleeve red shirt and black pinstripe vest and matching pants walks onto the stage. (Why are there only lights on the stage?) 

           "I am Malaka, the principal of this school. You all entered this program to become the ambassadors of the sacred city of Rigora. You all have your reasons. Escaping from something or someone, maybe you want to guide people to peace, or maybe you seek status, wealth, and power. Whatever your reason is...it doesn't matter."  

           The students start chattering frantically. He continues. "All that matters is how strong you are. It doesn't matter about your kindness or your ideas. If you fail people die, which means someone loses a mother, brother, or child. No kindness can prevent that, strength can. That is what keeps your citizens safe, their loved ones close, and most importantly, it gives them hope." 

           The lights of the auditorium cut on revealing all the students. Valerie looks around the room. (Oh my goodness, there have to be hundreds of students in this room alone.) The principal continues. " As you can see, many people want to oversee this city. But out of the students in this room only eight of you will be selected. You will be selected through a series of exams both written and physical. You will need to score one hundred points to pass. I will be judging your performance along with the queen herself." 

          (The Queen herself? I can't wait to meet her.) "This example will be a week from today. So use these seven days to sharpen your skills and study the subjects. You all are dismissed, good luck." The principal finishes. Chattering and scrambling footsteps erupt as the students leave the auditorium. Valerie leaves the school and heads home. 

         Sometime later Valerie approaches a street. She looks at a large, two stories, red and white building. (Here we are

...home.) She knocks on the door. 

          "It's open!" Emma shouts. Valerie enters. She notices a familiar scent. She enters the kitchen and Emma is cutting a pie. 

           "There she is!" Emma says. She approaches Valerie with her arms open and hugs her. "I'm so proud of you." She says as she squeezes her daughter tightly. (Proud?)

          "I thought you would be mad that I won't become Queen?" Valerie asks. Emma pulls her away and looks her in the eye.

          "Listen. You're my daughter, I want nothing more than for you to follow your dreams and do what makes you happy. (I also know that becoming an ambassador will help you understand why you need to become queen.) 

          " I made your favorite," Emma says as she lets go of Valerie. "Apple and strawberry pie. I made it to celebrate your graduation." 

         "I didn't graduate yet mom." She replies. Emma puts her hand on Valerie's shoulder and looks her in the eye again.

          "Do you doubt yourself?" Valerie immediately breaks the eye contact. 

          "Well…" Valerie tries to find the right words. "It's just that, my only soul arm is a bow and arrow. I'm not good at close combat and I feel like I'll be a target." 

           "Do you know what a soul's arm is? It is the manifestation of your being. It can only do whatever it is that you are capable of. " Emma replies.

         "I know that mom. I understand what having a soul's arm means."

          "It means!" She buds in. "You need to be in the right state of mind or you can hinder yourself from abilities you may not know you have."

         "Wait…Really? Valerie asks.

          "Yes. You need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and take the time to figure out what you are capable of. Lastly, you are not restricted to one soul arm. As we go through life the various events can change us, shape us, or unlock new aspects of ourselves. Those can manifest in the soul's arms. I would tell you why you have a bow, but I'll let you discover it." 

          Valerie smiles and the two begin to eat the pie. The two finish up, Valerie cleans up her dishes and heads up to her room. She enters her room and jumps on the bed. (I wonder if I should paint the walls something other than pink.) She hugs her two stuffed bunnies tightly, sighing heavily. (I wonder how David and Azara are doing. I miss going to class with them. I would love to see them again.)

         The next morning Valerie does her morning routine and heads to class. She takes her usual route, a path hidden in cherry trees that goes on for miles. Pink leaves are scattered across the path. As she walks down this path she steps on something. "OW!" She exclaims. She brushes the leaves to the side and discovers an antique pendant. Its rusted iron leaves black marks on her fingers; she turns it around to reveal a goat's head on the front side. (Strange) (Maybe I should keep it). 

          Valerie arrives at school. She stops and looks at the school, the tall porcelain building with golden edges on every corner, window frame, and doorknob. Valerie smiles. (If I pass, there's no coming back. Onto Gera, where I'll become an ambassador.  She enters the school. On the way to one of her classes, an announcement is made. "Attention students. This is your principal speaking. Valerie Ryujin, please be at my office in five minutes. Once again Valerie Ryujin, at my office in five minutes. Thank you." (Malanka? What does he want?)

         Valerie arrives at the office and sees Malanka sitting behind a computer. He stands up and greets her.

          "Greetings Valerie. Have a seat." He states. Valerie sits in a black leather chair with dark brown wooden arms. 

          "We need to talk about your grades." He states.

           "Am I failing?" Valerie asks.

            "That's the thing." He replies. "You're passing but you can do much better. You are a member of the royal family and your grades are average."

          "Well if I'm passing I don't see the issue." (Yeah! Tell him!)

         "Are you going to tell that to someone who loses their parents? Do you expect them to cope with that so you can excuse your weakness?" He retaliates.

           (What's this jerk's problem? Why are they targeting me because of my family? I didn't ask to be born this way.) Valerie tries to gather something to say. 

          "As a royal, people are going to expect more from you. As they should." Valerie puts her head down and looks away. He continues.

         "If you can't deal with that pressure then you need to give up, or an innocent person will lose a loved one because you just can't admit that you can't do this. I will be keeping an eye on you, that other royal, and that class nine brat. The cream of the crop needs to be chosen. You are dismissed." 

          Valerie gets out of the chair and rushes out of the office. (Why was he so mean to me?) She urgently pushes through a crowded hall of students and barges into the bathroom. She goes into a stall and tears run down her face. 

          Sometime later there's a knock on the door. (Great. Why now?) 

             "GO AWAY!" She responds. The knocking continues. Then she hears a voice.

           "Uh...miss. I don't think you can be in here."

          "Why not?" Valerie replies. (Can't he just go away? This is getting on my nerves.)

           "This...is the boy's bathroom." He responded. 

            (What?) She leaves the stall and she sees the white and blue walls with urinals on them. ( I'm in the wrong bathroom!)

           "I'm so sorry, I'm just having a bad day and I've been super stressed and…" She says as she gathers her things. As she opens the door she sees a man dressed in all black with a white collared shirt. She notices his blue hair and eyes.

           (No way!) "A...AZ…" she rushes out of the bathroom and heads to her next class. Once she enters the classroom the principal pauses his lecture.

          "Valerie!" He says, "Five minutes late, a helpless child could have lost their parents but let me guess, they shouldn't expect that from a royal."  

          (What a jerk!) Valerie walks to the rear of the class. 

            "Serves her right." Says one student.

           "Get your head out of the clouds, your times up royal girl." Says another student.

            (Shut up...all of you shut up.) (Why do you hate me? You don't know anything.)  

            The principal begins his lecture. Valerie attempts to listen. (Was that Azara? I hope I can talk to him before the exams.) 

           "Valerie!" The principal exclaims. "These questions will be on the written exam. It is important to reply know these things. Now then, where is the sacred city Rigora?" 

             "Well…" The principal shakes his head. "Come on Valerie"

           "Let me guess!" She interrupts. "People are going to depend on me to know certain things and probably something about losing someone they love because of my lack of knowledge,"  Malanka smirked. 

          "I take it that doesn't bother you. That your incompetence will cost someone something?" He replies.

           "What I'm saying is help us become competent to prevent those situations." Valerie rebuttals. Malanka smiles.

           "Very well." He turns around and uncovers a drawing board. He starts drawing a diagram. Once he finishes he steps aside to uncover a drawing of nine smaller circles surrounding one big one.

           "Alright class you can thank Valerie for this, you know I prefer you find the answer yourself. This diagram demonstrates our solar system. Rigora!" The sound of his pen hitting the board fills the room as he gestures to the big planet in the middle. 

           "This planet is called Gera, the home of Rigora. Do any of you know why this city is hidden?" The students around the room start muttering. 

            "Because of its ancient technology," Valerie suggests. (I didn't mean to say that out loud.)

           "Correct," Malanka says. "But why is the technology hidden? What does it do?"  The class starts muttering again, scrambling for explanations.

           "Ancient technology that harnesses all the life energy in our solar system. It's called a Dyson box, it is not known how this technology can hide or where it comes from."  Says a mysterious voice. 

           Valerie looks to see where it comes from. She sees a man with long, thick locked purple hair, a black coat, and brown leather pants and boots. The coat is lined with black fur around the collar and sleeves. 

          "Violante? You usually don't like sharing your knowledge." Malanka says as he briefly smiles. (Violante? Wait...Violante Reyal? I'm in the same class as HIM?) Malanka continues his lecture, and a few minutes later a loud ring deafens his voice. The class is filled with the sound of students swarming out of their seats. 

           "Hold on everyone!" Malanka interrupts. "There is also going to be no homework for the rest of the week. All I want you to do is study the technology of Rigora, which will be on the exam. Use this remaining week wisely, whether you study or slack doesn't matter. All that matters is your performance. You are dismissed, see you tomorrow."

           The students scramble in the direction of the door. Valerie starts packing her things and begins to head towards the door. "Valerie!" Malanka says. "I need to speak to you." Valerie sits on top of her desk. As the final student leaves, Malanka shuts the door. He sits behind his desk. 

           "I noticed you were very short-tempered today." He starts." (Unbelievable, is this guy unaware of how he picks on me.) "Channel that anger and frustration into your performance, and I won't have to point out your incompetence. Ok?" 

            (What a jerk.) Valerie tries to say something. "However," he interrupts. "You did get me to help out, and because of that, the class seemed to enjoy that lesson. Good job." (Oh wow. He complimented me.) "So focus on your strength and weaknesses. You are dismissed." 

           Valerie leaves the room, trying to hold her smile. She walks into the hall and lets out a sigh of relief. (Finally! I did something well. Alright Valerie, we need to keep this up so we can pass the exam.) She continued walking but she notices a familiar male figure. (Wait, is that…) Her walking speed increases as she shoves through the other students. 

           She gets closer and she sees his blue hair. (It is! I have to say something to him.) She gets even closer and she grabs his shoulder. Before she can speak a hand slams into her arm. (Did he hit me?) Azara turns to face her. He gives a blank stare.

          "You." He says, "You're that girl that was in the wrong bathroom." (Is that the only thing he remembers me by?) "What do you want?" He states.

           "I…" (Come on think of something, he already thinks you're weird.) Valerie scrambles for something to say. She notices he has a pendant similar to the one that she found on the path. (I got it!) 

         "I like that pendant. I have a similar one." Azara just stares at her. (Why does he look angrier.) 

            "Where did you get that!" He demands. (Oh no. I was just trying to break the ice.) (It must be important to him, why else would he be so irrational.) Valerie notices that Azara is growing impatient.

           "I…I just found it." She replied. Azara just stares at her. Valerie breaks eye contact. Azara grows impatient. He turns away. But he says something before he leaves.

            "That pendant was used as a mark for my clan. The angels created it and attached it to our homes so they would know which residents were demons. The fact that you have it, makes you my enemy." He states. 

           As he walks away Valerie's heart sinks. She fights the tears forming in her eyes and tries her hardest to maintain her composure. (Oh no! Why did it have to go this way? It does make an interesting love story, but he hates my guts. Why am I thinking of love? Slow down, Valerie.) 

           Valerie heads to her final class. She enters the room and sits in her seat. (Why did I have to pick up that stupid pendant?) Valerie continues to ponder what Azara said to her. Her thoughts are interrupted by the class bells' loud ringing. (What! Forty-five minutes passed?) She rushes out the classroom door and heads home. 

           Valerie heads to her room. She stares at her pink walls. She holds her pink and blue bunnies. Tears come swarming down her face, overwhelmed with sorrow and confusion she cries. 

          Eventually, she hears a knock on her door. She quickly dries her tears and regains her composure. 

           "Valerie?" Emma calls. "You ok?" (Shoot, it's mom.) "I'm ok," she replies.

           "Can I come in?" She asks. (I don't want her to, but I have to act natural.)

            "Sure!" Emma enters the room. She sits on Valerie's bed and looks her in the eye.

            "Valerie. I heard you crying. What's wrong?" She says more firmly? (So much for acting natural.) She lets out a huge sigh, then she finally tells her.

             "So I met this boy. I decided to make small talk with him and he got so upset. I don't know why he was so mean. The principal was mean too but I'm used to that." Emma holds her response and thinks.

            "Why did he get upset? What did you say? Boys are really simple, so I doubt he would be so unreasonable for no good reason."

          "Well...I just talked to him about a pendant I found. He got so mad." The urge to cry consumes her, but she fights it off. Emma smiles nervously, Valerie notices she's still confused about what happened. 

           "Here I'll show you." She gets up and pulls the pendant out of her jacket and hands it to her mother. She looks at the Greyish, rusted pendant with a rams head. She looks at Valerie.

           "Where did you get this?" She asks firmly.

           "I found it on my way to school."

"Be honest with me. Where did you get this?!" She interrogates. Valerie's eyes start to water. (Why does no one believe me? What's the big deal with this dumb pendant?) 

          "Valerie?" She presses further. Valerie breaks.

          "ON MY TO SCHOOL!" She yells. Tears come out of her eyes. She can no longer contain the frustration and anxiety. She cries profusely. Her mother hugs her. Minutes go by, and Valerie's sobs fill the sound of the room. She eventually stops.

          "I'm sorry," Emma says. "But I have to be sure. This pendant means something."

           "Why does that stupid mean so much?" Valerie asks.

          "Listen." She says as she pulls Valerie away. "You must be talking about Azara Dopples. He is a descendant of Azazel. Who betrayed the angels and took a third of the angels with him. They have been at war with them since. Centuries later the angels launched a surprise attack on the demons. They went from planet to planet killing the demons. This pendant was used to mark the demon's houses." 

          (I can't even imagine, I can't…) Valerie doesn't know what to think. Before she can say anything Emma adds something else.

           "The most unfortunate part for you is we are angels too." Valerie is at a loss for words. The two just sit, as silence fills the room. Quite sometime later the silence breaks. Emma gets up to leave but before she leaves she says one last thing.

           "I wouldn't even date this guy, you come from two different worlds. But if I listened to my mother when I was in this situation, I wouldn't have met your father who is the love of my life. Furthermore, I don't think he would be happy with this situation. Just do what your heart desires, but also be careful."

          Emma proceeds to leave the room. Valerie just sits in silence. Processing all the information she received. (So I am an angel, and he is a descendant of Azazel. I need to find out who he is.) Hours later Valerie tucks herself into bed and goes to sleep. She goes through her morning routine. (I need to get to school early, I have to find out who Azazel is.)

         Valerie heads downstairs and rushes to the door. "Valerie wait!" Her mother calls. She stops and turns around. Her mother walks to her urgently and hands her a dish with food in it. (How did she…?)

           Valerie smiles and hugs Emma. "Thanks, mom!" She says as she turns and walks out the door. She always takes the same path. She arrives at school and is greeted by Malanka as he opens the gates.

            "Valerie! Forty-five minutes early? Is everything ok? " He asks. (Perfect, he loves history, I can ask him.)

         "I have a question." She said.

         "You came this early for a question? Can't it wait until class?"

          "I didn't want the class to discuss it. I was going to go to the library but I decided to ask you instead." Malanka grins. 

          "Well then let's go to my office." The two enter the school and arrive in his office five minutes later. The two sit down at his desk. 

         "Alright, what did you want to talk about?" He asks as he grabs a cup of coffee and goes for a drink.

          "I know you are very knowledgeable about historical events, so I figured I would ask you about someone named Azazel." Malanka stops drinking. He looks at Valerie with the same look Emma and Azara gave her. 

           "I know. It started when I found this pendant." She pulls out the rusted pendant with a ram's head on it and hands it to him. He looks at it, then looks at her confused. 

           "I know, I had this conversation with my mom. I just found it on this path I take to school. I just want to know who he is, and understand him."  Malanka looks at her and grins.

          "I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're not speaking of Azazel, are you?" Valerie looks confused. (Of course, I am.) 

           "What do you mean?" She asks.

          "You were talking to Azara a couple of days ago. Now you want to know more about his family." He replies. (It's that obvious huh.) 

          "He was a classmate of mine, back when I was in class nine. I wanted to talk but he didn't recognize me, and he seemed so angry. It wasn't about the pendant, he was just angry in general." 

          "Are you not aware that his parents were taken from him last year? He asks. (Wait….what?)

          "Were they? What happened?" She asks. Still, in disbelief, her concern for Azara rises even higher. She realized that is why he is so different. Her thoughts come to a close as Malanka speaks again.

         "It is believed that the angels did it, but traces show demonic residue so not much is known. Ever since her passing his grades have rapidly increased. He went from being an average student, if even, to one of the strongest students in the school. I wanted him to come to class one but he refused."

           (Yeah because you're a jerk.) "Anywho," he continued. "Class starts in five. You are dismissed." Valerie gets up and heads to her first class. She arrives and she is the first one there. She continues to think about Azara.

           (So he lost his mom, did she give him that pendant? Was he upset about its history? No...he said it calmly like it's something he accepted. However, he did say I was his enemy. But he doesn't know I'm an angel. So he must think I have something to do with his mom. He's coping, so that's why that makes sense.)

           Her thoughts are interrupted by the school bell. The students come rushing in, followed by Malanka. He sits at his desk as all the other students take their seats. He stands up and begins the announcements. 

          "Five minutes late class, that is unacceptable." The room is filled with inaudible chattering. 

            "The gates were locked, there was nothing we could do." One student says, Malanka sighed and put his hand over his face. Disappointed with what he just heard.

            "Valerie here was THIRTY minutes early because she wanted to catch up on her studies. If you wanted to be on time, you would have been just like she was." He says. The class starts talking. Malanka continues. 

          "Today's topic is going to be a little history lesson. We will talk about Azazel the destroyer. Does anyone know anything about him?" The room is filled with an awkward silence. Students look around in confusion. 

          (Why is he talking about that? The way he teaches is strange.) More silence fills the classroom. 

            "This will be in the test, shame on you. I will give you a short lecture, so take notes."  The class starts pulling out their notebooks. Small chatters of confusion make their way around the room as Malanka begins. 

           "Azazel is a fallen angel. The first to be exact. In the beginning, we were created by a being named Jackal. He also created nine beings called the trinities of reality. One of them was Azazel. You see, the Trinities we're headset in keeping their power and technology to themselves. But Azazel wanted to share all knowledge and power amongst all creations." He notices a student raise their hand. 

          "Wouldn't that make him a good guy?" They ask.

           "Whether he is a good guy or bad guy is up to you. My job is to teach you, not tell you what to think." He replies. He takes a sip of coffee before continuing. ("Just do what your heart desires, and be careful". That reminded me of what my mom told me. Is he so tough on us because he wants to encourage independent behavior?)

          "Azazel believed it was the gods'  duty to share their knowledge and power with all creations. He believed that if everyone had their power, chaos would not exist. The Trinities believe that we are not capable of comprehending their power, that we would misuse it and eternalize chaos." Another student raises their hand. 

            "Question Violante?" (He never asks questions, is this something he doesn't know about?) 

          "The Dyson box, does that technology come from the Trinities themselves?" He asks. 

            "They exist in a realm beyond our understanding, so it is possible. But we do know the box was created in this dimension." He answers. He looks at his watch and smiles. 

           "Alright, class today will be cut short. I want to give you some time off. (Wait, what?) I reiterate whether you study or slack makes very little difference, all that matters are your results. You simply pass or fail. The exam is in two days. There will be no class. See you later students." He ends his lecture.